Covered in Rain
by Pepita Moonwheeler
Summary: [KoBo] Can you make someone remember as easily as they forget? Or shall it prove that love does not remain just a memory?
1. Chapter 1

**Covered in rain**

**by**: Pepita Moonwheeler

**Author's notes:** This is my first chaptered fic retrieved from a battered-looking diskette, dating way back to my grade school days (grade five to be precise), so please forgive any grammatical error, plot loophole or an insignificant detail made unnecessarily significant.:-) But despite the aforementioned, this story is very sentimental and dear to me.:-)

**Shoutouts:** This is for my dear friend Amai, who I built the kingdom of Rei kai with.:-) Despite the immense distance between us still, "we belong under the same sky" and I love you, forever.:-)

**Disclaimer:** None but the story is mine; all the characters and rights belong to Yoshihiro Togayashi and Toei animation, Japan.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE:**

The light crept inside the Mahogany themed room. It touched everything with its still blossoming light; letting its magic spread forth on everything. It was a pretty sight to beheld, only if golden-eyes were able to see it. But as always, Koenma the crowned prince of Rei Kai, was too unfortunate enough to have his nose buried in paper work. His freedom was completely non-existent- it was the price to salvage the remaining functionality left in the underworld.

His fingers were already poised to flip the next page over, but the imminent blip in the back of his mind, halted him. He was bothered by something, though he cannot place what. He tugged his pacifier with his teeth (which became a therapeutic force of habit) and was quickly lost in his spinning thoughts. What could he have possibly forgotten?

The answer lay on the blue ferry girl who banged his door open.

"Ohayou! Koenma-sama!"

If koenma was startled, he successfully masked it. Because when he returned Botan's good morning he was sedate with just a soft smile curving his lips. "You are awfully cheery today." He noted. The pleasant faced girl beamed. "Why wouldn't I be? Something wonderful is up today."

Koenma did not want to admit that he had forgotten.

"I see."

A crease appeared on Botan's face. "Don't tell me you've forgotten!" she said in exasperation. Koenma need not respond to that because his face spared him the worry of doing so. She sighed. "Koenma-sama, I know things are pretty burdensome around here but you need to take a break from all the hub-bub you are drowning yourself with."

She moved towards him, her face wearing a pained and pensive expression. Her hands, she laid atop his shoulders, a practiced she was accustomed to doing, especially when Koenma was burdened with a plethora of paper work. The warmth from the pads of her hands quickly transferred to his tensed shoulders, soothing them and letting them droop into a relaxed state. Koenma sighed deeply.

"Come with me to the Rei kai festival," she begged silently.

He would've said no, had her charms not have a strangle hold on him. He sighed audibly and looked at her squarely in the eye. "Yes." He answered her, his voice albeit heavy. He quickly pushed his thoughts that speak of his insurmountable work aside. He had more time for them later.

He pressed his head against her stomach; blissfully unaware of the ting-tangly feel he was giving Botan. He loved the feel of them together like this-- it was as if nothing mattered to the both of them. It was as if she was the only thing he needed to get by. A melancholic feeling began to dawn upon him, as he realized that despite their apparent closeness, Koenma still had feelings he couldn't easily divulge to her.

"Koenma-sama?" His eyes were weary, and he wasn't in the mood for anything at all but everything else melted away at the sight of her smile. He conceded to her request, and her smile grew to a big grin.

_All she ever did was ask, she never really had to beg me for anything…_ Koenma mused.

They stayed like so for minutes, both savoring the quiet moment they had to themselves. It's been years, they both thought. It was true. It's been years since they had time to themselves; to talk, to laugh, and to simply be with each other. The trials that Rei Kai underwent changed them both; Koenma who was once an energetic and spunky child is now a serious adult who was deprived of anything except his royal lineage and his sleep. Botan was his only source of happiness, and not many people know that they were inseparable as a needle is to its thread. She was the one that knew him best even if he had lost all his hair. She was the one who mastered all his moods and his actions that it was highly likely that they would end up together.

But time is still time, and with its passing, destroyed Koenma's life. He was a young adult, when the news of his mother's death shocked the kingdom of Rei Kai. Enma, the king of death, who was once a quiet person, changed dramatically when he had heard the news. He became erratic; one moment calm and focused and the other spent screaming at anyone who was unfortunate enough to cross his path. He also withdrew from the job and left it for Koenma to handle.

And Botan was there all the way. She never left him, believing that once in her life, Koenma was there and he was a fuel for her to pull through.

The moment was put to an abrupt halt when a knock disturbed them out of their reverie.

"Koenma-sama?" Came George's voice. Koenma sighed.

"Waking up?" Botan asked "Not quite." He whispered; his eyes still closed.  
"Koenma-sama? I have the reply of the council here"  
The two shared a light laughter upon hearing George's coaxing tone. "He's such a persuasive devil isn't he? Excuse the pun"  
"Yes. So"  
"Hmm"  
"I'll see you in your quarters, Koenma-sama"  
He nodded.  
"Ja"  
"Hmm, ja."

Botan waved goodbye and with a brief smile opened the door for George who had a grin on his face. "I knew that would get your attention. What were you two discussing in there"  
"We were planning to set fire to this office." Koenma sardonically replied. "What did the council say…?"

Botan closed the door and headed towards her quarters. She was quite proud of herself, she was able to pull Koenma from his desk and a few people were rarely able to do so. Sometimes, when her schedule allowed her a little solitude, she wondered if Koenma would ever give up his work for somebody. _She must be lucky_, she thought with a twinge of envy.

She knew that something far more than friendship was impossible between them. It was odd, since she had no justification for this feeling; only an empty hollow bitterness that they were never meant to be. Or maybe it was born from the fact that she had unexplained fears?

She pushed the door open, and her tidy albeit small room greeted her. She sighed and pulled the ribbon that tied her hair in a ponytail and released her soft blue tresses. She combed a hand through them and in a minute began undressing.

She piled all her folded garments in an armchair in the corner, and proceeded to open a cabinet that was just beside it. She pushed her pink kimonos away and found the pieces she was looking for. With one hand she pulled out a pink long sleeved sweater that was a little off shoulder and exposed a small portion of her back and a white bohemian skirt that went two inches past her knees. She placed them carefully on the bed and resumed fixing herself. In under a quarter of 60 minutes, Botan was dressed and refreshed for the Rei Kai festival.

She checked her reflection in the mirror for the last time then she locked her room before proceeding to Koenma's quarters.

The trip to Koenma's room took a lot of time. It was located south of the Imperial palace, and to get there one must have to cross a multitude of corridors and a few staircases. It takes precious energy and causes sweat. Admirably though, Botan was as cool as a cucumber when she arrived in front of the gigantic twin oak doors.

"Hello!" she cheerily greeted the two guards guarding Koenma's room.

They grunted in response.

"May I come in?"

Albeit apprehensive, they still opened the door for the charming ferry girl. She thanked them with a wave and a smile, but they only closed the door behind her in response. Yes, they were particularly dull and uninviting, but she was used to them anyway.

She walked the majestic length of Koenma's room, stopping once in awhile to admire the paintings on his room's walls. They seemed like they were from the Victorian era, reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh's work. She smiled mentally applauding Koenma's taste. _He really is a prince._ She giggled. "Koenma-sama?"

Koenma heard her voice ring through his chambers. He quickly ran a hand through his hair, combing it to its shaggy perfection. "I'm here Botan," he called out.

The air was so dense with a nameless emotion that you could wrap it around your finger. Koenma stared at Botan; unashamed that he was betraying his awe for her. Botan, on the other hand was blissfully unaware of him gawking at her for she too was greatly admiring him. He was dressed in Ningen clothes, but he still managed to put a stamp of royalty to it. He was breath taking; his outfit resembling that of an oxford student's. A deep blue vest over a crisp short-sleeved polo and khaki pants, he was worthy of being drooled over.

"Oh," they both said at the same time. Botan turned away to hide her now crimson face.

Koenma cleared his throat, amazingly cool and collected. "You're quite a sight Botan-chan." He said, mentally kicking himself afterwards, realizing how sappy he sounded. "Arigato," she stammered. "You look, um," she hitched a breath. "Fascinating." Koenma laughed. "Am I leaving you speechless"  
The other pouted. "You know what I really was right to assume you were vain"  
"Aww," Koenma placed a hand over his chest, and mocking a scandalized expression. "Touché"  
"Hah, serves you right." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Egotistic twit," she added affectionately.  
He smiled. "I know you love me"  
"You wish"  
"No need. I'm pretty assured you do." He said proudly as Botan giggled shaking her head. "We really ought to go you know"  
"Uh-huh."

She pulled him by the hand and dragged him towards the door. They passed the two guards who looked perplexed as to why Botan was dragging their prince. Their royal highness merely grinned.

Along the way they met several people, George included. He didn't bother too much on them though because he was currently concentrating on a piece of grain. "He made a bet with me," Koenma said flashing a smile. "If he could make that grain stand I'd give him a week long holiday. We know whose winning." He finished with a grin. Botan laughed.

Every corner of Rei kai was covered with people by the time Koenma and Botan arrived. "Well, where are they?" Botan wondered.  
"Probably in the nearest food stall they could find." Replied Koenma; distracted by a booth that sold dancing mice. "Well we won't find them just by standing here. Let's go take a walk." They weaved through the crowd hand in hand, and it took an enormous effort not to get deluged by the pressing crowd. It seems that everybody in Rei kai was too caught up in the entire bustle to give any importance to the astral prince. Too bad, Botan thought. We could've spared ourselves some trouble.

It took them an inordinate amount of time to find the former tanteis. Yusuke and the others were sitting on a park bench near a beverage stand ("I told you we'd find them near a food stall!" claimed Koenma triumphantly.), casually observing the roaming oni's, ferry girls and spirits enjoy themselves like they used to when they were still alive. Botan smiled to herself as she realizes how much three years since the Rei kai trials had changed them all.

Yusuke and Keiko were now seniors and were about to enter a university of their preference. The same was also true for Kuwabara and it was quiet a shock to everyone when he finally admitted his feelings to Yukina. That was the only major change for the delicate girl, though; as she was still unaware that Hiei was her brother. Although she probably didn't fiddle much with the idea since she was busy maintaining Genkai-sensei's dojo. Hiei on the other hand was also busy with the Makai; him being the second-hand of Mukoro. Shizuru is now engaged and Kurama is still a bachelor; preoccupied and intent on his doctorate in economics degree.

"Oy! Yusuke-kun!" Botan screamed making everyone's attention turn to focus on her. The pair happily waved ar them and they waved back, each happy to see their former spirit guide and boss. "Hey!" Yusuke yelled back, energetically beckoning the two towards them. They quickly walked over to them and after a brief sharing of friendly pecks on the cheek, hugs, compliments, handshakes and everything in between, lapse into what was an hour of pure talk mainly about their lives and future endeavors.

"College is draining me," Kurama confided as he sipped his glass of lemonade; his poise unwavering. "All the tests and the paper works are really something to reckon with. I wonder how you manage to survive a plethora of them Koenma-sama"  
Koenma chuckled. "Force of habit I guess. You get used to it after sometime"  
"I guess that means you're still a bachelor, huh?" Shizuru interjected.  
Kurama smiled "I guess so"  
He threw a sideways look at Hiei who merely grunted. "The same is true for you I presume"  
"If you mean the Makai; yes"  
Kurama laughed.

"Ooh look, a candy cart!" Botan squealed. "I'm gonna get those jujube things; will that be alright with you guys?" the group nodded, and without another backwards glance, Botan sped towards the direction of the jujube cart, blissfully unaware of anything else that was in between her and her goal.

She didn't notice a black haired man standing in her way, and by the time she did, it was already late.

"Oh gosh I'm so sorry!" Botan apologized profusely, after colliding horribly with the slender built man. He gave her a friendly smile. "Oh no, it's alright." He said. "I should be the one who's apologizing right now. I really should've been more aware not to stand idly here." Botan merely scrunched her face at what he said. "Oh," he said, upon realizing that Botan was struggling to get up. "I'm terribly sorry."

His soft strong hands, comparable to those of a painter, took hers in a tight grip. He pulled her to her feet in a graceful swift movement and for a moment the distance between them was close-quartered. "Thanks," she mumbled, aware of how near his body was to hers. "It's nothing," he replied as he placed a hand to rub his nape.

It was pure accident that in that moment, that second he had looked into her eyes. It took that one phrase, to change the whole of her life.

"I think I've seen you before…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER TWO

* * *

**

_Something's in the air…_

Koenma saw what happened and in an instant, curiosity and concern consumed him. He was ill at ease, although he wasn't sure if it was born from the fact that a man was too near her or maybe it was because there was something he couldn't put a finger on. But he knew that he had to stand up; he had to call her name...

_Let go of my hand…_

Botan pleaded in her thoughts, her whole body filled with dread as his words sank into her subconscious. It wasn't as if she was foreign to the idea of men approaching her with their inventive pick-up lines. She had gotten more than a hundred of them whenever she was in Ningenkai hanging out with Keiko, Yukina and Shizuru. But somehow, this man's words scared her. It was as if she knew that he was right, they both knew each other long before this incident.

"You're speechless," he whispered, in a tone so haunting.

She wanted to take her hand away from his, but his grip was so binding. She couldn't, and she had the strangest feeling she didn't want to. "I-umm," she blundered through words, uncertain of what to say. The man curiously peered in her eyes, undeniably searching for something; a feeling perhaps?

"Botan?"

She heard his call, but she decided to take no heed of it. She wanted more time with this man, at the same time she wanted to get away from him. "I don't know you're name." she lamely said, after a bout of silence. He laughed his eyes amusing to anyone but her. "My name's Lenma. I have long forgotten my surname." "Oh"  
"What's yours'  
"What"  
"What's your name"  
She hesitated. Should she give him a name that she merely invented? "Botan"  
He grinned. "Beautiful. It suits you"  
She stammered. "T-thank you,"

"Botan!"

Her name was twice called; she knew that if she delayed any longer, she would irritate Koenma. "I have to go"  
"That phrase is usually a conclusion of everything isn't it"  
"I guess so," she darted a furtive glance at a now jogging Koenma.  
"I want to see you again"  
"Huh?"

His eyes roamed her face, as if letting every line of it be etched in his memory. She tried not to blush, for the manner his eyes scrutinized every detail on her face was scorching her. Lenma was persuasive, and it seemed like he's the type who would never take no for an answer; she had reason to believe he'd never gotten any.

She was really anxious to leave him right now.

"I will"  
"Tonight then."

And he turned away, a pleasant smile shinning on his face. Botan sighed, aware of what she had gotten herself into. She heard soft padding of leather shoes against the sturdy earth and found Koenma standing right behind her. "Are you okay? What was that all about"  
"Why are you jealous?" she tried to inject sarcasm in her voice but she ended up with a lame tone lacing her statement.  
"C'mon, enough with that; what really happened?"

She wanted it to hide it from him, if only that was possible. But a sensible part of her said she had to tell him, at least she owed him that for all the concern he was showing. "He invited me to see him tonight." She answered nervously as if there was something terrible about the offer.

Koenma looked like someone just blew the palace to pieces. "But you just met!" he said, disbelieving. "Well, did you agree"  
"Yes"  
Koenma blanched further. "I—I—couldn't say no to him Koenma-sama. There's just something about him and…"

The next sentence made his world fall apart.

"I feel this certain attraction to him."

There was a pregnant silence between them, which Koenma broke with his "Oh." Botan looked away. "Say something, Koenma-sama." "Uh, I-I'm stunned"  
She bit her lip.  
"What I mean is that you guys just met and already a date"  
Botan chided him. "It's not a date Koenma-sama, were merely seeing each other in the literal sense"  
"That somehow makes a difference," he replied sardonically.  
She sighed. _What's up with him?_ "Is there something that I should know"  
"None. Why'd you ask"  
"You're awfully huffy"  
He smirked. "It's just him. I think he's sort of"  
"Go on"  
"_Rough_"  
"Rough?" Botan repeated. She almost laughed.  
Koenma's eyes narrowed. "Well, it's true."

Botan really had to laugh this time. She hugged him tightly and said in a low almost seductive voice. "He isn't as **cute **as you." Koenma had to smile at this point. He was lying if he would say that this doesn't please his ego. "Oh. I just knew you had a thing for me"  
"Shut up," Botan said affectionately.

They walked towards Yusuke and the others, Botan not bothering to disengage herself from Koenma. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Shizuru muttered to Yukina, who craned her neck to spot the two. "It looks like Koenma-sama and Botan-chan are"  
"…_arm-in-arm_?" Keiko finished.  
"No," interjected Yusuke, "It looks like they're _hugging_"  
"Ssh. This is none of your business." Keiko admonished him.  
"DON'T SHUSH ME"  
"You guys be quiet!" Shizuru hissed, noticing that Koenma and Botan were only a few feet away from them.  
"Well, he started it!" Keiko glared at Yusuke.  
The other flared in anger. "EXCUSE ME"  
"Shush!"

Koenma blinked. Something was not right. Everybody was awfully quiet. _Too quiet,_ he thought. "What's going on"  
"We should ask you **that**." Yusuke said; an evil gleam in his eyes.  
"Are you meaning Lenma?" Botan asked.  
"The hottie has a name?" Shizuru beamed.  
"Kuwabara glared at his sister. "I should tell you to Touya," "Shut up." "Wait, so what really happened between you and that Lenma guy?" Keiko asked Botan. "It was intense back there that Koenma had to stand up and check if you were okay." She finished, emphasizing the phrase 'stand up'. "Eh, he was pretty friendly"  
"Too friendly," Koenma interjected, his face showing disdain.  
"Hmm. We saw that." Kurama said with a wink. Botan blushed.  
She fidgeted. "And he"  
"Don't keep us in suspense!" Shizuru said exasperated.  
"He asked me to see him again tonight"  
That left everybody speechless.

All eyes were now settled on Koenma whose only reaction was a stony expression on his face. Practically everybody knew that there was something different with the way he acted around Botan and vice versa, everybody except him. It was pretty ironic, but then so were a lot of things; like the fact that Botan was agreeing to see a complete stranger, when she didn't even propose a similar idea to Koenma. Maybe they knew subconsciously and they just didn't want it to bother them anymore. It's possible that the prospect of actually falling in love scared them, although it wasn't clear to everyone.

"Are you going to see him?" Kurama asked breaking the tension.  
"Yes"  
The group lapsed into another silence.  
They wanted Botan to say something---_anything_—because everything was just too muddled. She didn't say anything though and they never probed anymore. They were sure that she has her own reasons—whatever they may be.

The hours passed and it was filled with much talk, which mostly circulated around the political status of both the Makai and the Rei kai. The girls were busy shopping around the little booths and it helped Botan ease up. She even forgot that she was supposed to meet Lenma when the night fell.

* * *

They were in a comfortable room in the Rei kai palace.

Everybody was sitting on squashy armchairs, all except Botan, who went inside the bathroom. "I'll be just a minute." She promised: In the mean time everybody resumed what they were talking about an hour ago; the boys about Rei kai trials and the girls about Shizuru's wedding.

Everybody was in a loud and boisterous mood, probably stems from the fact that it was full three years before they heard anything from each other. They were blissfully unaware of anything until Botan stepped out of the powder room, all fixed up and with places to go.

"I'll see you guys later." She said cheerfully as she distributed pecks and hugs (with the exception of Hiei) around the room. "You take care okay?" Keiko warned her. "If something happens to you I swear I'd strangle that guy." Botan laughed. "Don't worry; I have my oar with me." "It's not enough, you should know full well that he's still a man and he has a capacity to possibly crush your oar to pieces"  
Botan's eyes fell on Koenma, who was biting his pacifier. He was trying hard not to let her know that he was scared to let her go, but it was all in vain. She could sense more than meets the eye when it came to him.

She walked over to him, and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll be safe I promise." She whispered. Koenma dragged a lungful of air through his nose. "I'm counting on that"  
"God, you are so serious." She teased him, whacking him on the arm. She turned towards the door. "Ja." She waved goodbye. "Ja." The others chorused. With a last look at them, she opened the door and disappeared back to the festival.

"Well," Yusuke started. "Should we stay---?" He was cut short when he saw Koenma stand up to peer through the window. "What's wrong, Koenma-sama?" Yukina asked. Koenma shook his head but there was something bothering him and it fueled the curiosity of the others. "There's something you are not telling us, Koenma." Hiei said all of a sudden. "It has something to do with that Lenma guy isn't it"  
He didn't answer. Should he tell them?  
_I think he's jealous_, Shizuru surmised. _But there's something stronger than that_.  
Koenma sighed. They were his friends and Botan's as well, and they only meant to pry because they cared. "Botan and Lenma," He gulped. The group inched forward to listen. "They were once married."

The statement stunned them. For a minute or so, nobody uttered anything; even to themselves. It simply was too surreal that they were married. Maybe knew each other but to actually be married? It was too damning. And how come Botan didn't remember?

Someone Koenma couldn't remember- voiced out this question but he answered nonetheless. "It's because I made sure that she wouldn't remember any thing about it." Koenma said with agony lacing his voice. "I guess I failed." What he said caused a stir within them, as he expected it would. What was his intention of doing such a thing? Didn't he know that he was causing her much pain by separating her from the only thing that death couldn't take, but apparently did? That was completely selfish of him!

He didn't answer, he let the TV that clicked to life do that for him. There was so much he couldn't explain, and if he did it would tantamount to so much pain. What happened before was long forgotten, but only by Botan, only by Botan.

He let himself be sucked back to the past.


	3. Chapter 3

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

She was called Botan Nisei then, and was happily married to a guy named Lenma Aoki.

Happily married? Apparently.

There marriage was already foretold when they were still the darlings of their small neighborhood. Both were dubbed as the 'dream couple.' Which meant that there union was something everybody fantasized, even those that admired them and wanted them for themselves. She was perfect; beautiful, smart in her own right (although a little bubble headed), charming, alluring and sweet. He, on the other hand, was also handsome, smart, athletic, and possessed a charm that wanted to make girls love him. Botan had admired him way back, though she only admitted it when they reached their adolescent years. So naturally, they were absolutely perfect.

He proposed marriage to her when the moment they had reached an acceptable marrying age, for he was now the title-holder of one of the most prestigious families in Japan and was eligible to marry. She thought this was quite fast; she was only sixteen that time. But everything else faded when her heart spoke.

She accepted, and her life was filled with instant joy. The wedding was small yet really classy, as was expected that a man from an affluent family. There has never been anything quite magical like this to her before and she wanted to devote her life to his service. She was the perfect submissive wife.

Maybe, she was a little too submissive.

"I'm off to work dear," Lenma said as he straightened his necktie. She smiled and walked over to him; aiding him into finishing what he couldn't do. "Whatever would I do without you," he said affectionately, as he watched her smooth out the creases in his tie. She merely smiled. "I'm sure you'd be happier. You'd go places, and have a beautiful woman by your side"  
He scoffed. "None would amount to you." He hugged her tightly planting a kiss on her cheek; she affectionately returned it, albeit she kissed him on the lips. "Come home early?" she begged, toying with his necktie. "I will. I have plans"  
"Plans?" she repeated, her eyes lighting up in amusement. "Tell me"  
"It's a secret, you'd find out later"  
She smacked him playfully on the arm. "I'd better. Ja"  
"Ja."

He went down the stairs, occasionally looking up to catch a glimpse of her. She waved back at him. It took him moments before he got outside; he was a little bit distracted.

He took out a letter, once he was safely inside the car. It read:

_Will see you in your quarters,_

_Yumi_

He sighed. He couldn't wait.

* * *

"George!"

His boss' scream echoed through the cavernous hall. He cringed. "What is it you highness?" he asked, careful not to trip Koenma's mood. He was tasked to handle everything in Rei kai, ever since his father became demented. He was too young; his age was only 574 centuries old. But who was to take care of Rei kai? He was the only one pitted for the position and the only one the people wanted. It was only natural that he was put into action.

"George who's tasked to check on the souls that was supposed to be ferried here a week ago"  
"Everybody's too busy, your highness"  
He sighed audibly. He already knew what was his protocol—_be the one to do all the left behind responsibilities, even if you are royalty_. "George," the blue oni turned towards the sound of Koenma's voice. He seemed much burdened, but after all, why wouldn't he be? Nobody wanted to be placed in a job that practically handled everything—except people's minds. "Yes, Koenma-sama"  
"Please inform the council that I'd be in Ningen kai. I wouldn't want them to get _shirty_"  
"Hai."

The oni bowed in respect to him, and he acknowledged it with a bow of his head. He sprinted towards the door and was out of it in a second. He immediately changed to his real form, although he still hasn't removed his pacifier from where it was stuck-in his mouth. _Note to self: remove pacifier later_. He reminded himself, before dropping to Ningen Kai.

The streets were fairly busy; rightfully so since it was the period in which small children and teenage students are pouring in from different schools. Koenma was well aware of this fact—most children souls that occupied Rei Kai were because they were hit by a road accident. It was a shame for them, but Koenma hated them right now to feel any pity for them. He resented the fact that they have a happier life than the one he was leading. Wasn't he supposed to be privileged? But look, this is what his privileges had brought him.

He walked a block further, trying to drown the sound of the children laughing, running around and playing. He preoccupied himself with kicking pebbles and casting them a mile away. He was doing this for a long time until---

"I suppose you are troubled," said a friendly voice.

Koenma looked up and he saw a pretty girl, roughly about the age of seventeen, judging by her already sculpted womanly body. He tugged at his pacifier, racking his brains for something to say, when it hit him: He was wearing the pacifier. He immediately popped it off his mouth and said, "That was a freebie from a candy"  
A crease appeared in between the girl's brows. Koenma hoped that she would bite his excuse. But it seems highly likely that she did. "They seem rampant nowadays"  
"What?" Koenma was shocked. She actually believed what I said?  
"Those candy bars are rampant these days"  
He scratched his nape. "I didn't realize"  
"It's a small thing," she said flashing him a dazzling smile. _Who is this girl?_ Koenma wondered. She continued. "I wonder how people tend to overlook those silly little things and I don't. Must be due to my eccentricity I guess"  
"You think"  
"Oh, I know. I've lived with being labeled like that during my younger years"  
"How come?" it was quiet hard to believe that she was eccentric. He has met girls like her before; her beauty was a competition that the princess he has met before had to beat and they were not eccentric, so how come she is?  
"It's just the way I am," she replied cheerfully. "And I like being this way," "What brings you here"  
"The children"  
His eyes narrowed. "What about them?"

He didn't have to wait for her answer though, for after a while a group of kindergarten children came running towards them. He tried hard not to scoff; it seemed like a rude thing to do, especially in front of this nice girl. "Konnichiwa, Botan-san!" they chorused in a giggly way. Botan smiled at them. "Konnichiwa! What have you done in school today"  
One child spoke up. "We learned how to draw butterflies today, Botan-san"  
"That's good!" she squealed.  
"Ne, Botan-san, is that your husband"  
"No, he's my friend"  
"Introduce him! Introduce us!" they chanted.

She turned towards him. "Well, here's Kyoichii-kun," she motioned to the squishy round boy. "This is Sakura-chan," the girl with a half-pigtail. "And this one's Tsubame-chan." The quiet one; only gave a small smile. "This one's Taka-kun." the future pretty boy. "And this is Ayumi-chan." She placed a hand on the back of the little girl who hugged her. She was a potential heart breaker; she had doe eyes and a pleasant disposition. "Oh, and last but not the least, Hidetoshi-kun." He was the spunky kid who delivered a wet kiss on her cheek. It made her giggle. Koenma believes him to be the future class clown. "Well it's your turn now."

Koenma looked at her. She was nodding her head towards the kids who were grinning in anticipation. Somehow, this sight didn't seem to irritate him, not even irk him at the very least. He proceeded to introduce himself. "My name's Koenma," this drew an ooh and ahh from the group. "I am just here on a visit." "Are you visiting a girl?" Ayumi asked her eyes shinning with excitement.  
Koenma shook his head and laughed. "No, it's a business trip"  
"A business trip?" the boys asked. The girls were somehow disheartened that he wasn't a knight in shinning armor here to save the princess in distress. "Yes," Koenma answered. "A business trip." "Does it involve Robots with rocket boosters?" Hidetoshi asked. "No"  
"Is it a plantation for frogs"  
He was controlling his laughter. "Nope"  
"I know, I know!" Kyoichii said bobbing up and down. "You are an astronaut! Phissshh. Phisshhh." He finished, with an added special effect. The others laughed.  
"No, but if I tell you would you promise not to tell?" he said seriously.  
"We promise! We promise"  
"I work for Santa." He said proudly.  
"Ooh," they said eyes widening in awe.

He turned to Botan, whose mouth was hanging open and had a look on her face as if to say what-made-you-say-that? "But wait a minute, isn't Santa's helpers elves"  
Koenma grinned. "Yes, but I'm his personal assistant. But don't tell Mommy and Daddy okay, it would be our little secret"  
"Kay!" they all chorused.

A big, kind face man suddenly appeared calling for the attention of all the children in the vicinity. Some of them scrambled excitedly towards the bus and others stayed behind like Hidetoshi. "You kids better go home soon, Otosan and Okasan will be waiting." She said, giving them each a peck on the cheek. "We'll see you tomorrow, Botan-san. Please promise to bring Koenma-san with you too." "Hai. Take care, all of you. Ja mata"  
"Ja mata!"

They disappeared in the distance, but occasionally craned their heads back to the playground. They wanted to see Koenma and Botan standing alone there together. "They seem perfect to me," Tsubame said, sighing. The girls nodded in agreement. "If only he wasn't a personal secretary of Santa," Kyoichii said, shaking his head.

"I have to go home too," Botan said turning to look at Koenma. He was really handsome and charming, but even his good looks couldn't keep her from wanting to go home to her husband. "I guess I'll see you"  
"Aa"  
"Ja"  
"Ja"  
"Would you tell Santa I was a good girl, ne?" she said with a wink. Koenma only smiled. "I will."

* * *

She entered their splendid house, radiating a cheerful smile around her. Her smile was the only thing in this house that wasn't cold and lifeless, for even her husband was like the ornamental pieces that adorned every nook and cranny of their house. He was bitter in his core, but Botan refused to see this, for her love surpassed all his flaws. "Lenma," she called out in a sing-songy voice. "I'm home." There was no answer forthcoming anywhere. She ascended the staircase. "Lenma?"

She heard the sound of a female voice but she wasn't sure. Her heart rate quickened, and she gulped to pacify it. "Lenma?" this time her call was panicky, almost shrill in pitch. She was doubting him, and she didn't want to, but who was to say? Did she really believe she could be the only woman in his life?

"Lenma?"

The door of their bedroom door instantly swung open. "LOOK, THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE COMPLICATING THE SITUATION—" He stopped cold when he saw Botan standing there with a pained expression. He instantly covered the mouthpiece. "What's wrong dear"  
"I should ask you that." He detached the phone from his ear and walked over to her. Botan sucked in a breath and asked, "Who is she"  
"Who?" Lenma calmly inquired, a crease appearing in between his eyebrows. "Is there something wrong?"

He walked over to her, and he gently thumbed her pale cheeks. She closed her eyes, trying to impede the tears that were pushing themselves to fall. "You'd think me stupid if I told you." "No, no," he said in a gentle manner "why would I do that?"  
She took interest in the tweeting bird perched on their windowsill. _It's because I'm not perfect enough…_

Lenma replaced the receiver. "I love you, Botan."

_Is that enough?_

Botan sunk in her husband's arms, never wanting to miss a skip of his heartbeat, the warm blow of his breath as he whispered sheer poetry in her ears, or just him holding her this way, defying the passing eternities between them.

_I love him. And I couldn't give him the world…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

Months passed with loaded memories that brought imminent change in all things. Botan, who was once as lively as spring now sits in a balcony overlooking the street, looking like the entire world has abandoned her.

But it already did.

It was a rainy month, and she was accustomed to her husband not spending most of his nights in their home. He reasoned that it rained everyday and it was safer and more practical if he was too stay at his ancestral house, which was reasonably nearer. Botan reluctantly agreed, her thinking that it was her husband's commitment to at least come home to her every night. But she loved him, and like she always would, she pushed all reasons aside and succumbed to this compromise.

But she is still his wife who has every right to worry, and because she was one stormy night, she knew she just had to go there.

Thereafter, things were never the same again.

_"Lenma?"_

_There was a rumble of sheets. An auburn haired girl emerged, followed by her husband who had an agitated look upon his face. "Is she the one?" said the girl, who was positively smirking by now. Lenma, however tersely nodded, his face an unreadable mass of emotions. "Botan, this is Yumi and she—"_

_"HOW DARE YOU INTRODUCE ME TO-TO-TO YOUR WHORE!" Botan sputtered._

_"WHORE?!" the enraged girl said. "Listen here missy I'm the one who's going to carry Lenma's pride. Yeah that's right," she sneered, seeing the abashed look on the other's pitiful pretty face. "I'm the one who's going to carry the child you cannot bear him."_

_Something burned in her eyes, seized her chest and made her scream in agony. She felt her husband kneel beside her and press her against his bare chest. She wanted to push him, hurt him but all she managed to do was to cling to him and let the tears that flowed to his chest speak the volumes of questions. "I'm sorry Botan," he whispered. "I just have to. I need a child, and—and"  
"I'm not able to give you one."  
he bowed his head in response.  
"Lenma, I don't know what to think anymore. I don't want to think about this—I just want to forget but I—I—can't!"  
__"But you can, we can go on and just forget about this"  
"How?"_

Botan got the answer in her mail two years after. Lenma decided to leave her for his other woman; it said so in the pristine white envelope. She was cordially invited to his wedding.

She wanted to scream at that time but no words came out. All that ever did was a strangled cry, wrenched from the pit of her despair. She knew that he would never be fully happy with her, but somehow she managed to delude herself in the past two years that they were together. Everything just seemed so perfect and right that she hardly thought that this was possible. But it was.

And just what was she expected to do? She could not fight for him any longer, what right does she have to? She was just his wife, someone who was expected to give him what the world hasn't. The only problem is, the one thing he wanted was the one thing she couldn't give.

Her feet continued to walk the lonely trail of the past. Along the way she saw restaurants, café's, shops and trinkets that made her miss him immensely. He was something that was hard to replace and she knew it would take more than walking along the street towards some unknown destination to shake the past behind.

She stopped at the playground.

It's funny how one thing could eject a thousand more. She stood there frozen as the tide of emotions overwhelm her and racked her body with so much pressure, she could hardly comprehend what was the best way to let it out. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to close her eyes and let it all take her—but she was powerless. There was nothing left to save her.

It took a voice to take her out of the void that pressed itself upon her.

"I never saw you again… until today."

She turned and saw his hazel eyes filled with remorse. A tug of the heart was all to blame for what had happened next.

She threw herself unto him, letting him press her against him, melting comfort into the heat. The tears that she had so wanted to pour spilled unto his shirt and stained his heart. She was broken and in his arms she was almost whole again.

He wanted to interrogate of her despair, but he felt heartless doing so. When someone has been so badly bruised, you have no will power to touch the part where it all hurts. And so, feeling like this was the only thing he could offer her, he stayed with her and shared her sorrows.

"I—I—I'm sorry." She cried, hitching a breath. "I just need somebody right now"  
He tightened his hug around her. "I'm here."

She gulped throwing all sense behind. "M-My Husband,"

"…He left me. He left me for another woman. Why am I so…Why? Why did he…? Oh. God why"  
She threw another fit of uncontrollable tears and Koenma couldn't help but feel resentment for the man who did this to her. For the man who had discarded something that Koenma would've given heaven and earth to gain---her love.

And now he was left with nothing with her jagged and torn pieces, scattered throughout her existence and there was nothing he could do but to hold them together until all the pain would stop. But he knew pain as he felt pain too, and he knew nothing could save someone from the hollowness of its embrace.

"Botan-chan, gomen nasai…" he trailed feeling his emotions overwhelm him.

The light slowly died over the horizon and the astral prince knew that it was his time to go. But he couldn't leave her. She was the weakness he was afraid to succumb to, but already did.

"Botan, let's go home"  
She looked up at him. "I have no home"  
"You do. Come with me, onegai."

She would've said no, but he was her faith. She allowed herself to be pulled to her feet and she took his hand in a grip of trust as he led her to busy streets and quiet neighborhoods until they came to a stop to her old house.

"You know my place?" she said, her face registering awe and shock.  
"Yes." He said, without flinching. "Keys please"  
She handed him his keys and watched him turn it 90 degrees to the left and push the door open. They entered soundlessly and Koenma took a moment to marvel at the Botan's ancestral house. The Dojo was well maintained with the moon spilling its light on the flat well kept lawn. There was a stone path that snaked across the lawn and towards the dojo. Botan tugged on his hand gently, urging him to move forward. He obediently obliged.

They walked towards the dojo soundlessly each confined to their own thoughts. Koenma looked at her, admiring her silhouette against the silver light. She was slightly subdued, although it still was highly likely that she would have another episode.

Botan slid the door open and walked across the room to light the single lantern perched on the stand. "Gomen, I wasn't expecting a visitor to come, I'm afraid there's not much to entertain you"  
"It's fine." He whispered. "Shall I proceed to make dinner"  
"If you must." He answered and watched her disappear towards the kitchen.  
He would have wanted to offer her help but unfortunately his cooking expertise only measured up to a thimble. In the meantime that she was not present; he preoccupied himself with his thoughts.

He remembered his mother, collecting every faint memory and every story that he was fed with. There were many versions of the past but he knew that one version was true. His mother was a half-ling: a child of God born out of a mortal's womb. His father and mother lived in peaceful wedded life until the war between the Reikai and his mother's kingdom. It was time for the sub-divided worlds to be reduced to only three and his mother's kingdom was to one of those who were going to fade to exist as a mere subordinate of Rei Kai. In order to achieve this, the council refuted the right of Koenma's mother to the throne. His father was incapable of going against the council's orders and so his mother was promptly disposed of and Koenma grew up without her. The last his heard of her was her death.

And this was why he felt so much for Botan. He reminded her of his mother, pushed to helplessness because she wanted to give her husband the privilege of an easy choice. But they were not just an option for decision-making. If they had loved them in the same vein as he did, they would have given them more than just this. If they were unable to give them fully what they want, is it a crime to at least give them an ounce of consolation?

But it was with her that he realized that the sacrifices they made were not out of their stupidity or their martyrdom towards their doomed fate but because they loved completely that they wanted to offer them an easy way out. And she voiced out the life his mother led.

"Koenma-san?"

He looked at her with an odd detached look upon his face. "Hai"  
"Daijoubu"  
"I'm fine." He answered giving her a faint smile. "That seems appetizing." She bowed her head. "Arigato"  
"Shall we eat"  
She nodded.

They ate in complete silence until Koenma asked, "What really happened Botan-chan"  
She gulped, restraining her tears. "I thought you wouldn't ask about that anymore"  
"Gomen," he blubbered as he fidgeted for an explanation. He didn't want to sound as if he had no care for her feelings; he merely wanted to know everything so that he could offer her a decent sound advice. "Its okay. I would have told you anyway," she smiled before placing her chopsticks down. "I cannot bear him a child."

Koenma looked at her with intense eyes. However she did not seem agitated and continued on with her story. "I thought that he did not mind. It was my misfortune to think that it was okay. I should've—I should've just left him be"  
He looked away, disgusted of the measure of her husband's love for her. "You shouldn't blame yourself for something love is responsible for"  
"But if I had more common sense"  
He cut her off. "Your only fault was to love him that much, Botan-san"  
She looked at him and she flashed him a watery smile. "I don't want anyone blaming him because I don't…I just wish I could've been the one who could give him everything"  
"You did," he said in a toneless voice. "You never gave up on him even when he gave up on you."

Two tears flowed to where his palm was ready to catch them. "Botan-san," he whispered. "I'm here. There's so much more than just this"  
"Koenma-san…I don't think I'll ever love someone as much as I did him"  
He silenced her with a hug. "He's not the only one who could love you"  
Whatever those words have meant had lost itself to the air, to be remembered only by the past. She returned his embrace wounding tighter around him. "I know you have to go, but please"  
"I'll stay…

I'll stay…"

* * *

The doors of her room slid open and a man entered soundlessly inside. He watched her sleeping; her cheeks marred with tear stains. She was still disturbed even in her dreams: he could sense her soul was wringing in her torment. Her emotional scars reached even to the depth of her soul and Koenma mildly admired her martyrdom.

He took a small paper from the inside of his jacket and in a flourish was done and was laying the piece of paper by her side.

_I will be back._

With that he gave her a small kiss on the cheek and left.


	5. Chapter 5

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER FIVE****

* * *

**

He strode towards the dinning hall looking cross. He didn't want to attend his father's fruitless dinner party, especially if it was for a long lost leader of one of their subordinate kingdoms. However he had no choice but to oblige because he needed the information for his added load of paper work.

"I really don't see why I have to do a long letter to the council about this. It's not as if they weren't well informed that the leader of Ryo kai has returned to fulfill his tasks." "They need to get you opinion of him sir," muttered Ayame, one of Rei kai's finest ferry girls and his personal assistant. "If he doesn't add up to your expectation, they would return the power to your command"  
"And just what do they expect me to do? Observe his mannerisms at the dinning table and make an inference on his leadership skills"  
Ayame looked at him. "We are here sir"  
"Thank you. You may resume to your quarters."

She gave him a low bow and walked away.

The guards on either side of the double oak doors did the same. They opened the door and Koenma heard the sound of a trumpet being blown. "The honorable astral prince has arrived," the squire announced. All the guests present at the table rose from their seat, looked at him and bowed in respect. He strode indifferently towards the table and with a bow to his father, took his place of honor at the table.

The squire announced the names of those present at the table. "I present to you Lord Koenma, the leader of Ryo kai, Lenma Aoki and his wife Yumi."

Koenma's hazel eyes narrowed as he watched the black haired man bow once again to his direction. _Lenma…Lenma…where have I heard his name…?_ He struggled with his memory until...

_"Lenma, the man who used to be mine is Lenma Aoki."_

There was no mistaking it; he was the man that was once married to Botan.

"Lenma," the squire continued, oblivious to his reaction. "Was your mother's descendant sire."

It was probably sheer luck that enabled Koenma to keep his dignified posture. But in technicality, he was on the verge of throwing anything he could at the young man; revolted at the fact that he was in association to the one person he felt contempt to.

"It is a pleasure to know you." "Same here." He took the hand offered, but did not flash him a cordial smile. However Lenma did not seem to be bothered by all of this, on the contrary he was highly amused.  
"You must understand the position we are in Lord Koenma," he spoke in tones that suggested of his affluent pedigree. "We were unaware that such responsibility could ever be bequeathed to us, let alone such power. I had long known of Ryo Kai, but had not really given it any thought"  
Koenma fixed him a calculating stare. "Amuse me with your story, Lenma"  
"Well, you must know that my childhood had been spent in Ningen Kai. But my parents did not keep my ignorant of my lineage, on the contrary they would always douse me stories of their noble past. But I thought that this information did not concern me very much, so I carried on my duties and responsibilities without another regard to Ryo Kai. Forgive me, I thought that it was completely not in my hands anymore, however I was apparently mistaken"  
Koenma's mouth corners twitched to a forced smile. "Well, you cannot be beholden for your actions. However you must be aware that running Ryo Kai is no walk in the park"  
Lenma frowned. "I am very prepared Lord Koenma."

The dinner platters started arriving and the royal family included their guests started to indulge in the inviting food served. However, even a hearty meal could not stop Koenma from prying in Lenma's life. It was as if he needed to know what made him who he is; probably for comparison as to who was better, but Koenma knew it was for complacency.

Soon after dinner, he invited him for a glass or two in the grand garden of the astral palace. Lenma did not seem to find any peculiarity about the situation, and so he bid his wife to wait for him at home. She obliged without another word.

Koenma sipped his drink. "We haven't got time Lenma, you and I, so indulge me in the gist of your life"  
"What gist"  
Koenma smiled. "Oh, the fickle fascinations of a man"  
Lenma grinned. "I should've known Koenma"  
"It is only right I think that we should share our life. We are related after all"  
He grinned. "I see"  
"You must feel fulfilled right now," Koenma stated after emptying the glass down his throat. "A new power to your command, a noble birth right, and a wife who loves you equally as you do to her"  
A bitter laugh escaped the other's mouth. "Love is not a constitution in our marriage, Koenma-kun. It is merely formality"  
"Is that so"  
"It is a funny story actually. You see, Yuki was not my first wife"  
Koenma's eyes burned. The amused look on the other's face almost made him want to choke him with his collar. "Yeah, I know. I was once married to a lady named Botan Nisei. She was the prettiest of the village girls and the most eligible to marry. She was phenomenal! It was almost surreal to have her"  
"She sounds like she's perfect"  
"Yeah, but the marriage I was in was a drain for me. She was my childhood sweetheart and I loved her dearly but I guess it isn't in my nature to settle down"  
Koenma tried to keep the anger in his voice minimalized. "You left her"  
"Only to perform my duties. Yuki was just supposed to carry my child that Botan could not bear"  
"Are your duties much more important than your wife"  
He gave him a pitying look. "I had to do what I had to, in order for me to have this. It may not be a lot to you, but it is for me."

Koenma nodded, as if to say _suit yourself_. But there was something boiling inside him; it was a mixture of anger, discomfort and a suicide of the common sense. Here he was defying everything to have a moment of her, but he who had it all squandered it without a second thought. It was all for his ambition. "You and I are very different in ways, Lenma. But I honor your choice. Oyasumi."

He extended his hand to him, and Lenma shook it heartily. "I look forward to working with you Koenma"  
"I as well."

* * *

"So you do honor a promise."

Koenma smiled at the blue haired girl in front of him. "Well I am here, aren't I?"

Botan found herself returning the smile. She could not express her gratefulness towards him for bearing with her and in the smallest ways lifting her from the rut she found herself in. she poured him more tea, which he drank gratefully. "What have you been doing today?" he asked. "I've been teaching the children. It is what I've always wanted to do before I—before I got married"  
Koenma placed a veil upon his emotions. "That's very fulfilling Botan-chan."

She grinned, despite her awkward feeling that somehow she shouldn't still be feeling this good. But everything else dispelled when she was around him; his charm had swallowed anything that exuded her misery.

With him she was free.


	6. Chapter 6

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER SIX**

* * *

_She's the brightest thing I've got..._

She seemed to be the only universe.

In the midst of falling, sparkling stars he only noticed her. She stood there transfixed at the breathtaking sight, whereas he stood there a few feet away from her and found her better than any falling star.

And she saw him shrouded in the dark and so she beckoned him over, partly because she could not let him miss this but really because she could not dare to stand without him when all her dreams were scattering about her. And he obliged, smiling at her as she made furious swipes to get him beside her.

She took his hand into hers and whispered for him to make a wish. He closed his eyes and did so. He opened them to find her staring at him, her eyes dreamy and wistful. "I made my wish already," she whispered staring back into the shinning sky. _And it was all about you_.

He nodded, as he found himself without words. He heard her gasp in surprise.

There on her palm rested a simple necklace, the only brilliant thing about it was the pendant, which was in resplendent cut of the northern star. In the middle glowed an unfamiliar stone.

He wanted to tell her of it's story, that the northern star was the only star that shone in Rei Kai, that the pendant was taken from the river of reality to which souls crossed over, and that it once was worn by his mother.

He knew he had to give it to her and the reason was the only thing he voiced out to her, as all the others he kept them to himself. "You're the only person I first saw the stars with, Botan-chan. I've only seen one that shone alone at night."

Her eyes looked at him with such pity. With a shaking hand she clasped it shut around her neck and carefully fixed it so it showed it's glimmering glory. She gave him a brief peck at the cheek. "Then never forget the stars. Koenma-chan."

He placed an arm around her and she leaned on him, and they shared a dreamy night as they were slowly covered in the rain of twinkling stars.

_...when I'm covered in rain.  
_

* * *

**Notes: **_"she's the brightest thing that i've got, when I'm covered in rain"_ is a line from John Mayer's song of the same title, that can be found in his _Any Given Thursday_ album.


	7. Chapter 7

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER SEVEN**

* * *

Her face was never as sunnier as it was now.

Botan walked cheerily towards her students, her mood instantly zipping them to their full attention to her. "Ohayou!" she greeted them and they did the same. "You must be wondering why we are here, ne"  
"Hai, sensei." One of her students piped. "Shouldn't we be in the classroom"  
Kimiko nodded in agreement. "Won't our parents get mad if they find we are not in school"  
"But they wouldn't know!" another argued. "Right, sensei"  
"Hai!" she chirped, crouching down so she had a better view of them. "This is our little secret." She made a shushing gesture, which made the children "ooh," in agreement. She giggled. "Who remembers Santa's personal assistant"  
"Ooh, ooh!" said Ayumi, jumping up and down, eager to tell what she knew. "He's your friend, right? Koenma"  
"Yes, yes!" Botan nodded. "He's here"  
"Ooh," the group chorused. "What's he doing here?"

"He came to sweep someone off her feet."

Koenma suddenly appeared from where he was hiding—behind the cherry tree—and silently walked towards Botan. The woman stood to her full height and turned 90 degrees to meet him. He smiled. She smiled.

It was something out of a dream; them standing together a good two feet away from each other. He looked at her with such a stare that only a man in deep fascination with something---_someone_---could possibly do. She looked at him, her happiness personified. They say that words could never grasp a thousand emotions and yes, they were right. No words could ever put into flow what had transpired between them; only silence would. Only their eyes would.

"Hello, Koenma-kun." She said in a whisper.

He bent towards her to deliver a soft peck to her cheeks, intense but chaste. "Fair day to you."

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and averted her eyes away from his. "I'm glad you're here." she said, trying to loosen up the situation. _If only there was room to melt…_she murmured in her thoughts watching him sidestep her to greet the children. He was very accommodating to them, and Botan sincerely appreciated his affection towards them. Not too many people bothered with the little ones, for pure reason that they were the business of women not of men. She has met men who paid children a care because of their wanting to be noticed by their conquest, but Koenma had no air of pretense about him. He was naturally one with them, and this made Botan's heart break with a positive pink-tinted ache.

They were talking about muffins now.  
"I love muffins," pronounced Hidetoshi, puffing up his chest. "They are very squishy"  
Koenma had a hard time suppressing the disbelieving tone of his voice. "SQUISHY?" "Yes," he said. "Squishy"  
"I would love to have a taste of that muffin, Hidetoshi-kun"  
"Mmm-hmm. Botan-chan always makes them in the afternoon." Koenma laughed. "Oh. I see. I had those. They are pretty squishy."

Koenma and Hidetoshi's conversation lagged on until it was time for the children to go home. They both said goodbye to them, but it was Koenma who ushered them towards the path that led back to the school. He was back a quarter of an hour later.

He found her under the shade of the cherry tree, reading a somewhat weather beaten book. He settled beside her. "Hello," she greeted. "How are the children"  
"Very energetic. The girls are still going about how they would never remove the daisy chain in their hair"  
She giggled and tucked the stray hair that flirted with the wind. "They are so adorable"  
Koenma smiled and nodded his head. "Ne, what are you reading"  
She held up the book. "Just those fairytales you used to hear when you're small. I used to read it when I was small"  
"I see"  
A bitter smile crept unto her features. "I always thought there was an ever after."

He looked at her with an unfathomable gaze. He wanted to tell her of his intentions; that he was ready to accommodate her world into his and that he loved her—yes, he loved her.

No she was no longer the inspiration of that drop of cheeriness in him, she was no longer the friend he had lengthy conversations with each day, she was no longer a visit that offered relief, and she was no longer the shadow of his mother's past but the woman he had learned to admire and love.

And those pieces fell so suddenly into place that he dismissed it casually as a flick of his perturbed thoughts and distractions. But that indifference ebbed away at the mere affection she gave him; the peace she offered for his raging anger over the past he had no time to correct.

"There is," he answered in measured tones looking at her watch the horizon, which was slowly turning to darkness and being spotted with stars. "Turn around"  
And she did and she found him, his eyes full of truths that she already knew what he was about to say before he opened his mouth and did so. "I love you, Botan-chan"  
A smile contradicted the crystal streaks fell from her eyes. Koenma's hand was outstretched towards her and she took it in an embrace as she whispered exactly all the things she had been waiting to tell him. That all that she ever wanted to gain back she had found in him, how he had become the source of every possibility that happened and will happen in her life and that yes—she finally found her ever after.


	8. Chapter 8

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER EIGHT**

* * *

"I have to finish this as soon as possible George."

The blue oni watched as the God junior, quickly leafed through all the state papers of Rei kai. He mustered all concentration possible, so as to make a quick decision about what he should do with them: shred them or mark them as passed. He was refusing to take the other piles that George had in his arms, for reasons unknown. "Demo, Koenma-sama, these are the forms that you requested the high priests to finish"  
He looked at him as if he was making a decision, but the answer turned out to be the same. "Leave them for me to look tomorrow."

George looked at him with exasperation. He had always known Koenma to want to finish all the tasks, so he immediately complied with his boss' order in order to enjoy a hearty meal of doughnuts. It seemed though that Koenma had no interest in those papers and that his efforts have been all for nothing. "What's happening with you Koenma-sama"  
He looked at him with a frown. "Nothing"  
"NOTHING?" he shrieked. "You've been going to Ningen Kai every so often, you've been distracted and irritable, you're now time conscious (which you never were), and you refuse to do all this papers which was once your Life"  
Koenma blinked. "Well, they aren't my main priority now"  
The frustrated demon wanted to grab the Demi-god by his collar. "How can you just sit there so **cool** and calm when I'm wondering where the part of your sensible brain went"  
"GEORGE!" the other yelled ungracefully, threatening to throw a paperweight at him. "Would you please not ask me for the details of my personal life!"

The demon blinked then his face split into a slow evil grin. "I knew it." He laughed triumphantly. "It's a girl isn't it"  
Koenma was taken aback. "N-no, it isn't a girl." He sputtered.  
George poked Koenma's chubby cheeks, which made Koenma's face twitch in annoyance. "Oooh, our dear astral prince is in love. Should tell Daddy I shou---"

After much restraint, Koenma, despite his graceful upbringing, punched George in the face. "You dare do that and I will make you pay for it!" he yelled, trying to strangle him. George laughed weakly, victorious at the lad's indirect admittance. The chaos was to ensue further had Koenma look at the clock and realized that he was late for his dinner date. He quickly got off the demon and sprinted as fast as he could to the door. "Tell Asaka-san that I'd be eating someplace else tonight and leave the office door open for my arrival okay?" he yelled as loud as he could as his voice trailed off. George sighed.

Amused he bent to pick up the fallen papers and carefully arranged them on the table. On the outside of the door he tacked a signage, which said, do not disturb; _prince is currently attending to important papers_. Then he cheerily walked away, humming a sunny tune.

* * *

The kitchen was busy bubbling from all sorts of things: a pot of rice on one of the stoves burners, a tonkatsu crackling away on a pan and stewed vegetables hissing as Botan poured a small shot of melted butter on it.

She was hurrying to piece together the dinner she promised Koenma.

She was never this panicky, at least when she was not under time pressure. But she had wanted to prepare everything so intricately that she wasted a good one-hour attending her kind old lady neighbor who taught her how to make the perfect stewed vegetables. She was unfortunately really slow, and Botan found no heart to tell her that she was.

She heard a knock forth coming from the wooden gate and her heart sank and pounded away somewhere around her navel. "Gomen nasai, Koenma-kun!" She said, running from the kitchens and into the paved walkway. "I haven't finished the dinner and—"

Her eyes were round as surprise took her over. Standing in front of her was Lenma, and he wore a smile that seem oddly twisted to her.

"Good evening, Botan-chan"  
She held her head in a dignified posture and asked, "Is your wife with you"  
"No she is not," came the reply. "I came alone to see you"  
"Well, you already have. Is there anything else"  
His smiled broadened. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

She wanted to hurt him physically, emotionally but she restrained herself in doing so. Instead she replied, with an edge of sarcasm, "By means of courtesy, yes, but I do not wish to. I am expecting someone"  
"It is Koenma, is it not"  
She paled. She looked away.  
"Botan"  
"Please, I am no longer Botan to you as you are no longer Lenma to Me."

His face contorted to a pained expression, as if he did not expect her to answer that way. He expected her to accept his proposal of rekindling, not their marriage, but their past. Unfortunately, he had himself all too well, because she obviously did not consider him anymore important than just one she had once knew. It stung him that he was pushed far away to be replaced by a man he'd only known once: Koenma.

"I've only wanted to take a moment to talk to you"  
She brought herself to her full height, in a dignified non-condescending manner. "I believe we have decided to skip all explanations as everything was clear enough to me, Lenma-san"  
She was about to close the door, when a hand held out to her. "I'm sorry for putting you through all this. I can't tell you how much I regretted the decisions I made." Something in her softened at his voice, and at the way he had said those words. "What do you want?" she whispered. He took a step forward. "Let me back in your in your life."

She closed her eyes trying to feel the weight of his words. He wanted her back with him, and has she not wanted this so badly? For him to come back and tell her that he had turned away from everything that was right and perfect in his world. But what would there be left for them? He had a wife and a child, and she couldn't do to Ayumi, what she had gone through. And besides, she had Koenma to change everything for her.

"I'm sorry," she half-whispered. "There's nothing else left for us, but this." she extended her hand to him, a gesture of pure friendship, if not a mere acquaintance-ship over a past better forgotten. His eyes bore steadily into her, as if he wanted her to reconsider. "Arigato gozaimas, for your time Botan-san"

She bowed and closed the door behind him and he turned, down to the road he never once imagined he'd take.


	9. Chapter 9

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER NINE**

* * *

"Oyasumi, Koenma-sama." Ayame greeted. She gave him a low bow, as he pushed the door open. Koenma bowed his head in return, and proceeded to enter the room. There he found all the previous papers he had abandoned in favor of the dinner that Botan prepared for him. They were neatly stacked in one corner of his desk. Before he was able to close the door completely though he found the note that George the demon had previously tacked on his board. Koenma laughed. _That George._

He settled himself on his squashy arm-hair and began leafing through a number of Reincarnation requests, world transfers, and soul subpoenas. He proceeded to read each one of the 65 papers, his brow creased in concentration as he found the contents completely distasteful. All of them carried nothing but their selfish intent of finishing an unfinished business, which clearly wasn't viable enough for an unfinished business. He shredded one.

In span of about half an hour, Koenma has shredded about 12 papers, filed 13 other letters of the council for a feedback letter, and stamped on 21 more. He was about to open another letter from one of the other council members when a knock disturbed him from his task. "Come in," he said, not bothering to look up.

"Good evening Koenma-san."

The voice caused his eyes to rise and meet the figure of Lenma Aoki, standing a good two feet away from him. "Good evening," he greeted, trying to suppress the surprised tone of his voice. The other man smiled grabbed a chair and politely asked, "May I?" Koenma nodded his head, granting the other man permission to sit.  
"Thank you." He said politely. Koenma nodded.  
"Is there anything I could offer you assistance?" Koenma inquired. Lenma shook his head.  
He folded his hands together. "None. But there is one thing, if you grant me permission to do so, ask you. It is not within context of work"  
"Shoot."  
"What is your relationship with my former wife, Koenma-san?"

The question took the other man by surprise. He had not expected any of this to come up between them, as he was sure that Lenma no longer cared as to what his former wife's life is now. However he answered the question as politely as he could and as limitedly as possible. "Botan and I have grown rather fond of each other."  
He nodded his head. "I see, is there nothing else?"  
"Forgive me for being direct, but is there something else to this?"

Lenma's gray eyes bore storms. It looked like they finally came to the point in which he was most eager to discuss. "I find it rather impolite of you to take something that had once belonged to me, without my permission"  
"I inferred that you have no care as to what had happened to her after you have left her for the betterment of your familial life. And by saying she was once yours, am I right to assume that you no longer hold claim for her"  
"That is where you are wrong, Koenma-san." Lenma said, his voice low and shrewd. "I do care if someone was to take her. Yes, I am very much selfish about her, for I still want her as mine"  
"I will not abdicate the position I now hold." Koenma said firmly.

There was a terse moment between the two. "Give her back to me," he said coldly. "I cannot allow that." Koenma replied, his eyes set and heavy.  
"Very well," the former said, standing up from where he was seated. "I think you may well know that there is no truce."

* * *

_There has to be something I could do_.

Lenma feverishly paced the length of his quarters. The previous talk with Koenma frustrated him, but he already knew that he would not give up on the one thing he seem to hold a high regard for. After all, who would? He didn't, even when he thought he was on the dead end of hope.

It all happened so sudden to him, that up to know he still could not fathom why he had wanted her back so badly. It may have been his currently frustrating marriage, over a wife who cared no less for him than he did to her. It may be that he found everything so unfulfilling, that he had to find a new avenue of inspiration. Or maybe it was because she was better in everything: in poise, in grace, in intellect and in beauty. But whatever the reason was, he knew he had to have her… again.

But the trouble was someone else already did. It had happened once, before they were married, but it wasn't like he had no choice but to accept the fate befallen upon them. He had ingeniously destroyed any budding relationship of Botan to any other man before it grew into something more.

He was jealous about her.

And who wouldn't? Given that she was almost perfect, who wouldn't want to take her, or to keep her? Lenma had first become attracted to her for this reason. He knew that he risked mistake and regret of letting their marriage fall into shambles, but to him nothing is more important than keeping the Aoki pride alive. He was merely choosing the most practical of choices.

But it did not mean that he would not stress any effort to get her back.

He did not know how things would fall into place: would he forsake his marriage in preference for his first wife turn mistress? He did not brood over this any longer, as he was more intent on her than anything else.

He looked out in the window and tried to ease his rampaging thoughts. By some strange twist of fate, what he saw made his heart jump in his throat in sheer excitement upon the enlightenment.

He quickly re-arranged his rumpled robes and proceeded to march out of the office, not giving any care to whoever walked past him or greeted him. He was intent on getting to the astral palace of Reikai, to speak to Koenma's father.

It took him about 15 minutes to get there, as transportation in Reikai is blessedly better than that in Ningenkai. He paused at the giant oak doors, trying to collect his thoughts and practicing his prepared lines. He was feverish now, feverish with the excitement of what he was about to do.

He heard the squire say: "Lord Enma receives the honorable Lenma into his court."

He took measured steps towards the Lord of Death, bowed down low and bade him a good evening. "What is it you beg to tell me about Lenma-san"  
He lifted his head and with a mastered skill, look into his senior with great remorse. "I ask that the Lord need not repeat this conversation with his son. I, personally, do not interfere with other's business, but I think it is already a matter of great importance"  
"Which is?" the God asked, impatient.  
"I fear that Koenma has an ongoing relationship with a mortal sire."

He did not see Enma's face but he was sure that it registered awe and anger over the fact that his son has allowed himself to be devoured by the one thing he feared would—love. Lenma had done his research on the royal family well; he knew that the last thing Enma wanted for his son was for him to allow himself to fall in love, especially with a ningen, and neglect his duties for he knew the political situation that would arise from this and besides, he did not want his son to tread the difficult married life he led.

"Is this true?"

The suppressed anger was unmistaken, the King of the underworld would probably drag his son and give him a punishment so sever he could well forget who he was seeing. "Yes. The woman's name is Botan Nisei. I know her personally as she was… she used to be my wife"  
"Are you implying a possibility that this is more for your good than my son's"  
_Damn mouth_. "No your majesty. I also feel that this woman needs to be justified, as she is also unaware as he is. If you please you majesty, I would suggest a graceful measure for us to take"  
"Cut to the chase"  
"We make her forget. But we do it in a way that she would gracefully accept our offer"  
The older was skeptical. "How do you do this forgetting?"

Lenma smiled in the dark. "Leave it to me your highness."

* * *

They crept inside her quarters as silently as they could. They saw her lying peacefully on the futon and with in a practiced and stylized movement, grabbed her from where she was resting and took her out into the night. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER TEN**

* * *

"Where am I?"

A red canopy filled her vision; all the rest was drowned in blur. She struggled to get up and found herself surrounded by regal red sheets and it petrified her. Where was she? And most importantly, who brought her here?

She got up from the bed and walked over to where a huge mirror stood. Yep, she definitely was not in her room anymore.

The room was huge, with enormous objects adorning every corner. The bed could well house 5 children at a time, there was a couch at the foot of the bed, a small circular table near the window, an open balcony with a breathtaking sight, a bookshelf, marbled flooring, gigantic curtains with golden tassels and paintings to adorn every bare wall. The room exuded regality, and she could swear on her life that she was in the midst of Royalty—however which royalty she did not know.

The room creaked open and a beautiful lady with brown eyes walked to where she was standing and bowed. She bowed back. The woman handed her a dress made out of silk, saying that the king requested her to wear it since it was improper to be seen in her nightgown. She wore it, albeit reluctantly, for she feared the man she was about to face.

In a little while she was escorted out into the corridor. She was shocked to find herself walking amongst souls and demons---where in the world was she? She wanted to ask the woman before her of what was happening, but she feared the answer as much as she feared the person that lay in waiting for her.

They stopped in front of a room, which oddly looked like it was an office.

"You may go in now, lady"  
"Arigato." She whispered bowing as low as the former did. Without any more ado, she entered the room.

Standing there was none other than Lenma himself.

"Nani?" she burst out. "What are you doing here"  
He crossed the room and placed a hand on her cheeks. "You look resplendent in that dress you wear"  
She did not respond to his flattery and glared at him. "Where am I? And what am I doing here"  
"You are here at the request of Koenma's father Enma-sama. And you are in the world of the dead…

Koenma is the son of death, Botan-chan."

She placed a hand over her mouth as her eyes grew wide in horror as she realized that try as she would want to convince her self that this was merely a dream, it was real. Koenma was the son of death, and would one day be death.

"What does he want me to do?" she whispered, biting back the urge to cry. Lenma looked at her and clasped her hand as lovingly as he could. "Forget him. You are impeding his becoming the king of Reikai. There are political situations that could arise, if this relationship is to pursue. You would put him in jeopardy Botan"  
"How do I forget him?" she whispered, as if in a trance. She wanted so desperately to fight for him, but how could she stand in way of his future? She loved him, but she loved him far enough to know which was beneficial for him—to have her go away than suffer a dire punishment.

Lenma crossed the room and pulled out a vial from one of his desk's drawers. He handed it to her and she looked at the crystal contained inside the glass. "So it all ends with this now." "Come with me," Lenma urged. "Don't forgo this. You still have a life"  
She smiled at him. "I loved you Lenma; loved you. I felt miserable when you wed someone else. But this is Koenma. I can't replace him. Gomen."

She slipped her hand from the one that held it and with melancholic eyes looked at Lenma for one last time, and left the room.

It only took three gulps before everything faded to oblivion.

* * *

Koenma walked the halls with a frown on his face. He did not know what his father spoke of, but he was urging him to go as quickly as he could to the great hall. Finally he arrived and upon his entrance said, "I am here as you commanded father." 

He looked up and saw his father with a tight expression on his face. An old priest stood beside him.

"Tell him what you have done, Enma-sama."

The king looked like he was about to lie but the better part of his conscience got hold of him and urge the truths to tide out of his mouth. He watched as he spoke of what happened to his son: that his friend, Botan's soul is in torment, as a result of the water she drank from the river of forgetting, one of the four rivers in the Spirit world. The soul was never meant to forget until it has escaped from its mortal shell. Botan was alive and therefore, forcing her soul to rebuke all that it holds in memory would cost her her life. Her soul will be consummated by the power of the river and therefore she would be held in ties with it, to suffer immortality as one of the guardians of the four rivers.

"In short terms Koenma, she will not remember anything about you unless there is a stronger power than that of forgetting. You will also bear to see her every day, as she will now work as your ferry girl.

I regret that there is nothing else to repair this."

Koenma shocked from what he heard, did not feel the constricting of neither his throat nor the drops of tears from his eyes. Neither did he hear his heart break, for the shattering of it was swallowed up whole by the screaming rage of his anger.

"Father," he said as his voice shook—with anger and with pain. "I have gone as far as to tolerate what has happened between you and my mother. I do not wish to tread the same path, and neither do you wish that for me too, but in your meaning to you have cost me the one thing you failed to give me."

He wiped the salt stains in his cheeks and resolutely walked from the hall.

"Koenma," his father thundered. "I only did--- Koenma, I am sorry."

The oak door closed, and neither father nor son heard no more from each other.

* * *

Love destroys and guilt consumes. 

He pushed the door to the council's room bowed low and told them what happened. I resign, he told them. He could not bear the atrocity he had done.

He drank the elixir handed to him, and he felt his immortality ebbing away.

"Tell Koenma that I am sorry."

* * *

He needed to get to her. 

The corridors stretched to far as he raced with every tick of the second and with every drop of time. He had to get to her. To perform the responsibility he was tasked with and administer death to the one person who gave him life.

Botan, he was chasing after her.

He turned sharply at a corner and with a last spurt of adrenaline, pushed open the doors that led to where she was. He ran to her side. "Botan, gomen nasai"  
"Hello death," she smiled. "Don't say that," he said shaking his head. "I hate to hear it, I hate to be it"  
She rubbed the back of her hand against his ashen cheeks and said. "This makes dying worthwhile, Koenma"  
"I don't want you to." He whispered as two fat drops of tears rained from his eyes. He looked at her, beautiful golden eyes pleading, showing, and needing. "Don't close your eyes. Botan, please, please don't forget about me." She clutched her chest, and Koenma saw the necklace he gave her glittering amidst the clasp of her hand. "Do you remember when I told you that I'd never love any man as much as I did Lenma"  
He could barely feel himself nod. "Never forget the stars," she whispered mostly to herself. "Koenma, I lied. I did love. I loved you and more."

Her hands pressed against his, and he felt the heat of her seep into the palm of his hand.

And he was forgotten.


	11. Chapter 11

**Covered in rain  
CHAPTER ELEVEN

* * *

**

The television faded into darkness and the room held its breath.

Koenma stared at the floor, thoughts clouding his vision. He had already predicted this situation and had tried to come up with different styles to avoid any further conversation about it. But it is technically impossible to do so; he had allowed that part of their lives to finally come to light.

"You lied to us," Shizuru said after that moment of steady silence.

She wheeled around to meet him, but only saw his back turned. He was emotionless and he was steady, like he was on the verge of something you couldn't name. "Koenma?" Shizuru inquired, watching him look at the window, watching the steady roll of the dark clouds. He sighed, turned, and without another word to anybody, walked out of the room.

"Matte!" Yusuke screamed. He badly wanted explanations, but as it looked, Immortals bleed too. He looked at the others as if to challenge anyone to speak up in his behalf. A minute passed before Kuwabara broke the thick silence. "So Koenma and Botan did have a past. That explains a great deal of chemistry surrounding the two"  
Yukina nodded. "But don't you think it's sad, He could only love her in memory." Her eyes bore a melancholic expression. "I guess love could never save anything." Said Shizuru remembering the heartache she herself underwent: loosing something she never had.

"Hn. You may just be wrong about that, human." Hiei said, finally saying something optimistic. "If there is a stronger force than forgetting, it's love"  
"What made you say that"  
He averted his gaze from her to the blackened screen. "Because I know that"  
"But if love could save her memory, why is it that Botan hasn't regained anything of it yet?" Yusuke inquired. The handsome redhead smiled. "Because there isn't a spark to ignite, Yusuke. All this time that they have been together: whether working or otherwise, there hasn't been anything that would relive her feelings for him. The trick of it is that she will remain confused unless something or someone would be able to send the message to her"  
"But why doesn't Koenma do anything then? Why can't we?" Yusuke exclaimed.  
Kurama frowned. "Because we need to have stronger ties to her past, and neither of us possess that. And as with Koenma, I doubt if he had time to reconsider it"  
"So why don't we make him then"  
"As I've said, he might have considered it but had not time to _re-consider_, slow and gradual as you can't force memories as you can't force time. But think, how do you think Botan reacted to him all these years? He may have lost hope altogether because of that."

Kurama's words sparked a realization within Yusuke. All those times that Koenma went to Ningenkai with Botan, his obvious concern for her, and that—stare; Koenma did send her gradual signals. But to Botan, it was a sign of their friendship, and perhaps, Koenma, knowing nothing else settled for that as well.

* * *

It was always the papers that took him away from everything.

When his mother died and he had to assume his position as the heir to the throne of Rei Kai it was his workload that he buried his misery into: spending night after night trying to busy himself so that it was easier to deal with pain. His work was like a magic slate; it allowed him to erase pain as easy as it was etched unto him. But just like the wax that lives behind every slate, there are traces that even forgetting could not erase.

Even his work could not pacify the emotions that he had so tediously tried to overwrite. Friendship could never put to whole something love has shattered to pieces. So even if he tried, Koenma could never be a better best friend than he was a lover.

He looked at the papers on his desk and tried to understand the lines that were inked unto them, but they appeared to be lines and lines of endless black dots that swirled into a blur. Nothing on this paper made sense to him and try as he might nothing in this room would ever do. Everything was muddled and thick with her.

His refuge became his hellhole.

There were knocks on the door: pleading, waiting and eager. He paid no attention to them, until a voice called out to him. He swiveled around and saw, her.

"How did your evening go"  
She didn't answer his question but sat on the chair adjacent to his. "You're sweating"  
"It's kind of humid here. How was Lenma"  
"Jealous"  
"Why would I be?" Koenma scoffed. Botan paid no attention to his stinginess, and tugged on his hand. "There's a shower of stars in Ningen kai tonight let's go"  
"I don't want to." He said defiantly. "The stars don't shine here like they do there. I want to see them; let's go, please"  
Koenma's brows furrowed. "You go; I can't"  
"Just this once, and I'll never ask again. Please. Let's go.

Despite the rage in him that said don't go he found himself moved to her beat and unable to resist it. Somehow he knew he had wanted this too, to stand with her on a rooftop and watch the stars that shrouded them once in dreams. He had made a promise to her, and intended to keep it. He would never forget the stars and tonight he would relive them.

So he let himself be lead out of his office into the hallways and corridors that he once ran to get to her, the memories pressing unto him from every corner. Everything passed by him in a strange blur: the past mingling with the present as he watched her hair fly from behind her, whipping out a strange spell of deliverance.

And then they were in Ningen Kai.

He couldn't care how he got there. They might have flown on her oar, or would have taken a portal--- he didn't know. All he knew was that she stood there in front of him, looking at him in a strange loving way, and that was all reason he needed. Moments later, he found himself on top a roof, sitting beside her. She was looking at the sky, wearing a pensive expression that didn't suit her. Her knees were tucked together under her chin, like a child. She laughed bitterly. Centuries ago, the both of them were not like this, so quiet and so full of secrets. Centuries ago they were full of dreams, dreams that didn't quite make it.

"What are you thinking?" he whispered, his eyes fixed on the shooting stars crashing unto the distance.  
She heaved of a small laugh. "How much do you remember Koenma-kun"  
He blinked. She never called him Koenma-kun. "What"  
She faced him, and reached inside his robes. She pulled out the necklace that he gave her, the one his mother used to wear before her untimely death and the only memory she left of her with him. "I've always wondered why you always wore this. I knew you had strange things on you, like that pacifier, but even a man of quirks would never wear a woman's necklace"  
"It was a gift, so I think it proper that I should wear It." he said defensively. She looked at him with sadness now. "I never thought you'd wear it though"  
His eyes widened in shock. What was she telling him?

"I remember Koenma-kun. I remember everything. I remember this and I remember that I told you to never forget the stars, and you never did. I've always thought it was unfair you know? I told you everything about me, but you always looked like you were keeping something from me. Now I know why. I just want you to know that despite me not remembering, all this time I loved you."

She looked at him and he looked back. Without thinking about it twice, without feeling anything for nothing but her, he pulled her into a tight embrace and forgot everything else.

And this time, there were no traces of echoes and shivers that could not be erased.


End file.
